South America

Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre-Giral may have been Spain’s greatest explorer of the eighteenth century. The hardships he endured certainly merit his inclusion on any list of that century’s great cultivators of geographic knowledge. He was born in Seville on January 12, 1716; and like many accomplished travelers, he received a thorough education in the traditional disciplines. He came from a family with a naval tradition, and young Antonio was eager to follow in these footsteps.